


there's nothing you can say to him

by mind_boggling



Series: just a little bit of your heart [2]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, M/M, karen is only mentioned but i love my girl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 01:00:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12494864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mind_boggling/pseuds/mind_boggling
Summary: "Why do you care?" He snapped in response, looking over his shoulder as Micro approached him in the reflection of the mirror. He merely shrugged, Frank noting the packet of potato chips he was eating as they crunched every now and then."I don't" He answered, Frank turning back toward the basin where he began wiping his hands clean of blood. The scrapes on his forearms and his fingers stung as they clashed with the water, but he knew better than to flinch. It only ever hurt for a short period, and there were more major things to hurt over. "Why do you care?"He sighed, looking back at Micro in the cracked mirror. "Fuck you talking about, Lieberman?""Why do you care so much about Karen Page?"





	there's nothing you can say to him

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jonahsimms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jonahsimms/gifts).



> inspired by my idea of _the punisher_ pulling a parallel of ellison's " _why do you care so much about frank castle?_ " in re to karen (daredevil 02x12)
> 
> check out the supporting gifset on tumblr!

He stumbled back into their close knit bunker. It was where he was crashing, taking however many hours of sleep his demons let him, whether it be two or three, or none at all. His body ached, and blood was dried on every patch of skin visible to the eye. Frank knew he'd have something to say about it. 

"Fuck happened to you?"

"Don't even start" Frank grumbled in response.

Micro was eccentric, most of the time, and the times when he wasn't were the times they argued most. It was rough and they clashed quite a lot, but at the end of the day, they had the same goal. And that was what mattered most to Frank. Since he wasn't able to see Sarah anymore, it was the only thing that mattered to Micro, too. 

"Finally get your ass beat?" He asked, his words masked by whatever he was eating. Frank clocked eyes on him, sat behind a computer at his desk full of clutter, monitors surrounding every angle of the chair he was leaned back in. He was wrapped in a grey poncho-looking blanket.

Frank scoffed. "Something like that"

"The hell does that mean?" Micro asked, leaning forward and standing from his chair. He walked around the desk toward Frank, who was stripping himself of his torn and bloodied clothes, hunched over a small basin full of water. A cracked mirror; he cleaned himself of her blood.

"Why do you care?" He snapped in response, looking over his shoulder as Micro approached him in the reflection of the mirror. He merely shrugged, Frank noting the packet of potato chips he was eating as they crunched every now and then. 

"I don't" He answered, Frank turning back toward the basin where he began wiping his hands clean of blood. The scrapes on his forearms and his fingers stung as they clashed with the water, but he knew better than to flinch. It only ever hurt for a short period, and there were more major things to hurt over. "Why do you care?"

He sighed, looking back at Micro in the cracked mirror. "Fuck you talking about, Lieberman?" 

"Why do you care so much about Karen Page?" 

Frank spun almost immediately. "How do you know that name?" 

Micro merely shrugged his shoulders, so subtly. "You were with her just now, right? Some explosion downtown, shit hit the roof, the usual?" 

"How do you _know_ that _name_?" Frank snapped louder, harsher. Confusingly, his heart began pounding. He knew Micro was shady, but to think that he had knowledge of someone Frank assumed _his person_ , inside _his_ small bubble, was enough to throw him into panic any day. How long had he been at it? What did he know?

"I've got eyes everywhere, Frank" He answered calmly. Frank's frown hardened, his chest rising and falling with an uncertain pace. He could tell Micro had noticed. "Do you always go round saving her ass whenever she's in trouble? Or was Blacksmith's attempt at her murder the only time?"

"You shut your damn mouth" Frank growled, his anger creeping up inside of him all too quickly. It made friends with his racing heart and boiling blood; the three of them old acquaintances with his demons. 

"Then just answer my question" Micro said, before repeating himself once more. "Why do you care so much about Karen Page?"

In all truth, Frank couldn't answer. He didn't know where to start. Whether to start. Whether to lie, to fight his way out, to completely bullshit to Micro's face. It was everything that he was good at. The only things he was good at. 

But Karen— _god_ , she made everything he was good at seem wrong. Made him want to clear his conscience of all the dirt that had gathered there over the years. Give his hands a rest from all the rough handling, the pain he inflicted, the war he raged within himself. She made him want to put himself back together with pieces that didn't fit anymore. Pieces of him that had changed over time, broken down by his darkness. Bits that he thought were lost, but clearly just lay within her soul waiting to find his.

In all truth, Frank couldn't answer Micro. Because if anything, he cared too much about her. What Micro would want was justification. Reasons why he dragged her into their mess just to protect her from it. Justifying his feelings that Frank didn't even understand himself. Things so foreign to his mind that they got lost within his damage. 

_"They all think that you're a monster"_

He wanted justification of why he felt this way toward her.

_"But I know that you're not, you're not"_

And justification was exactly what he couldn't give.

**Author's Note:**

>  **title:** song lyrics from ' _broken_ ' by _gorillaz_
> 
> edit: looking back on this, it's probably the closest thing to a canonical piece of writing i've ever done and i love my son david lieberman that is all
> 
> find me elsewhere:
> 
>  **twitter:** vanlangs  
>  **tumblr:** bisexualieberman


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